A Time For Family
by l03l
Summary: It has been ten years since the first Christmas she and Castle shared as a couple, and when she thinks back to that year, she almost can't believe how far they have come. Kate marvels at the changes to her life over the last ten years as she plans a Christmas surprise for Castle. Castle family Christmas fluff. One-shot.


**A Time For Family**

Summary:

It has been ten years since the first Christmas she and Castle shared as a couple, and when she thinks back to that year, she almost can't believe how far they have come. Kate marvels at the changes to her life over the last ten years as she plans a Christmas surprise for Castle. Castle family Christmas fluff. One-shot.

A/N:

Because who doesn't need Christmas fluff in May? Haha I have no idea where this came from, but I'm going with it, and I hope you will too, even if it isn't Christmas time :)

* * *

It has been ten years since the first Christmas she and Castle shared as a couple, and when she thinks back to that year, she almost can't believe how far they have come.

This year, she gets both Christmas Eve and Christmas off work.

A scheduling miracle is the reason for her third Christmas in a row with her family, and she gets out of her shift on Christmas Eve because she isn't above using her children to manipulate her colleagues.

All she'd had to do was flash a picture of them from last Christmas, their faces alight with the magic of the season, the matching Christmas sweaters that Castle had bought them _almost_ overselling it. But she chose her mark wisely – Jenna Evans, a rookie with no plans for Christmas Eve. One day she'll inform the woman that she should know better than to advertise that she's free on Christmas Eve to a bunch of cops who want nothing more than to spend the holidays with their families.

Evans caved fairly easily, and Kate thanked her profusely, telling the rookie that she made three little kids very happy. Not to mention her husband, who will likely be more excited than the kids.

Castle adores Christmas with an enthusiasm that cannot be rivalled, except, she has learned, by children, particularly those with Castle DNA.

She'd thought it was overwhelming ten years ago, but she knows now that he was (wisely) easing her into it.

With three kids under the age of eight, he goes completely overboard during the holidays, Christmas being the biggest occasion of the year.

But she doesn't tease him about it anymore, because their kids are all at ages where Christmas is all Santa and magic, and she knows that it (unfortunately) won't last forever. They love the effort he puts into making it special – the tree and the decorations and the carols playing constantly.

They're all new traditions, traditions that she has forged with this man and their family, and she finds she only loves him more, ten years on.

* * *

She has it all planned.

She refrains from telling him the moment she cons Evans into taking her Christmas Eve shift, even though she's desperate to see the smile on his face.

It's easier to keep it from the kids, because they only want to know if mommy is staying home today or tomorrow, they don't ask about next week.

So even when he pouts because she's been scheduled for Christmas Eve, she plays along, knowing it will be worth it in the end.

Alexis is taking the train from Boston with her husband Simon to spend Christmas with them, and when Kate suggests they catch an earlier train to surprise Castle, Alexis is more than willing.

Kate has it all planned, and she struggles to contain her excitement, knowing that this surprise will make her husband happier than any of the gifts under the tree.

* * *

She wakes early on the morning of the twenty-fourth, leaving him sleeping, and climbs the stairs to check on the kids before making coffee.

She chuckles silently at the sight of their seven year old daughter, her wild brown curls covering the pillow as she lies on her side, seemingly wrestling with her comforter. She's only half covered by the blanket, but Kate knows better that to straighten it. She has learned that moving the bedding always wakes the girl, who then often refuses to go back to sleep, so instead, she lifts one of the spare blankets in Lucy's closet and drapes it over her daughter's exposed back, before stepping back into the hallway silently.

Next door their son sleeps quietly, not having moved from the position he fell asleep in, flat on his back, his little hands clutching the his well-loved toy elephant.

It used to frighten her, the way James would sleep so motionless; she used to spend hours watching him, making sure he was breathing, even when Castle teased her for being overprotective.

She pushes the door to the last room open quietly, her gaze settling on their youngest with a smile. Noah is the spitting image of his father – more so than his siblings, who look more like her – and she marvels at the sight of him. He was their little miracle, right from the beginning. A beautiful and unexpected addition to their family, who came into this world two months early, scaring his parents right from birth. He shifts in bed, and she watches him, waiting for any sign that he's awake, leaving the room when she's satisfied that he's still sleeping soundly.

She descends the stairs and makes coffee for herself and Castle, who she knows will be awake soon. Despite enjoying all the sleep he can get, he always gets up to see her before work, to spend those precious few minutes with her before she leaves and before the house is alive with the sound of their children.

Instead of staying late to do her paperwork, she now leaves earlier in the morning to complete it so she can be home earlier, a routine devised to ensure the maximum amount of time spent with their family.

Castle will often come to the precinct to visit and help out, sometimes bringing Noah when Lucy and James are at school, and occasionally he arrives with all three of them to take her out for lunch or a coffee break. She wasn't sure she would even allow it to happen, when their kids were still hypothetical, but she actually adores having her kids her visit at work.

They're the only people in the building more captivated by swivelling in her chair, or playing with the toys she now keeps in her bottom desk drawer than the murder board. It's that innocence that she clings to, that grounds her, and it's something that even Gates enjoys, often allowing them to colour or play quietly in her office if Castle gets caught up in a case.

Castle enters the kitchen bleary eyed and clad in only boxers and his robe, smiling and pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Morning," he says, taking the mug of hot coffee she is holding out to him, smiling in thanks. "Happy Christmas Eve," he says, the usual joy in his eyes at the mention of the holidays tampered because she's going to work.

"Happy Christmas Eve," she returns, her eyes sparkling with the knowledge of the surprise.

"I wish you didn't have to work today," he murmurs against her skin, his self-pity preventing him from seeing straight through her poorly disguised excitement.

"I know," she says, kissing him slowly. "But I'll be here tomorrow."

He nods, smiling at her.

"What are you guys going to do today?" She inquires softly, listening carefully for the sound of little feet on the stairs.

"Lucy wants to go to Rockefeller Center," he says, and she smiles knowingly.

"Sounds like fun."

"Aren't you late for work?" He inquires, catching a glimpse at the time, knowing she usually would have showered and dressed by now. Given that she's not going to work, but to pick up Alexis and Simon, she allowed herself a few more moments in bed, a few extra minutes watching her children sleep, so by normal standards, she's already running half an hour late. She nods in response, before gulping down the rest of her coffee and going into the bedroom to get ready.

When she emerges, she kisses him swiftly goodbye, adding "I'll see you later," as she's on her way out the door, and he nods, waving goodbye.

There's a slight pang of guilt that hits her while she's walking to the car, but she quashes it quickly, knowing that the surprise will make up for any current disappointment.

* * *

Penn station is packed, and she's thankful for Alexis' distinctive red hair, making it easy to spot her in the crowd.

She hugs the young woman tightly, ignoring the huffs of annoyance from people who have to move around them.

"I'm so happy to see you," she says, pulling away to embrace Simon too.

The six-foot-three high school English teacher had her approval from the beginning (following the police check and good first impression) and he has been a regular fixture in their lives for seven years now. He's kind and honest, and everything they could have hoped for Alexis, even if it took Rick a little while to admit it.

She had told Alexis at the time that it was a good thing, that her father had been so unsure of Simon, so unwilling to give him a chance.

'_It's because he knows that this one might be the one, and he's petrified of losing you,'_ she'd told Alexis, knowing that she had more moments like this to look forward to with their children. She never fully understood it until Lucy was born, that innate, irrepressible fear of your child growing up and leaving you, even though you know it's inevitable.

On Lucy's first day of school, Rick had been more than tempted to keep her home, to _keep her theirs for a little longer_, to not let the world have her yet. Kate had teased him, not admitting audibly that he was voicing her own anxieties, although she knows in hindsight that he was aware that she been scared too, watching their little girl conquer such a milestone.

"Dad is going to be so excited," Alexis says, giddy, and Kate grins at the sight of the little girl in the grown woman before her, the roundness of Alexis' belly visible proof that she isn't a child anymore.

They converse excitedly about Christmas, and the pregnancy, Alexis prattling off potential names for their daughter, while Simon rolls his eyes, certain it's a boy.

She chuckles, warning Simon that Alexis has a sixth sense about these things.

When she had been pregnant with Lucy, both she and Castle had been certain they were having a son, Alexis the only one who had declared that she would be getting a baby sister, not brother, at least this time around.

Simon disagrees, and they argue playfully as Kate drives back to the loft to drop off their bags before they meet up with the rest of the family.

Alexis unloads their Christmas presents, adding them to the enormous collection under the tree with a smile.

"Every year, I think Dad can't outdo himself again, and yet…" she sighs, almost wistful as she surveys the loft.

The faux-snow hanging from the ceiling, the life-sized reindeer, the stockings, the lights; it would all be intimidating, and possibly considered overkill for those not named _Castle_.

But to them, it's just Christmas, and Alexis looks to her, smiling.

"Where're dad and the munchkins?" She asks, and Kate's phone beeps before she can answer the question.

It's a photo of them all enjoying hot chocolate at Rockefeller Center, and she shows it to Alexis with a smile.

"Let's go."

* * *

New York City during the holidays is busy everywhere, but Rockefeller Center is _insane_.

Even with all the craziness, she spots her family immediately.

Her husband has Noah on his shoulders, and she can see James and Lucy pleading for their turn, as Lucy watches people on the ice who are flying by.

Rick puts Noah down, visibly telling Lucy and James to give Daddy a moment, as he rubs his shoulders.

She glances at Alexis and Simon, who know her almost too well by now, stepping back to enjoy the atmosphere so she can surprise her husband.

In the crowd, it's easy, sneaking up behind him, and her lips are by his ear before he even knows what's happening.

The true feat is slipping by their kids, who have a sense for these things, and often notice her in a crowd before he does, even if he knows she's coming.

"Hey, sexy, Merry Christmas," she whispers for only him to hear, a playful lilt to her voice, and he turns to see her with his own eyes.

Any greeting he may have for her is interrupted by shrieks of _mommy_, and she revels in it, squatting to embrace all of her children, who are adorably excited.

"I thought you were working," he breathes, wonder in his eyes, and she smiles, shrugging.

"I'd rather be here," she states, and she knows that even after all this time, he's a little in awe that she loves him, loves their family more than anything else in the world.

"There's something else," she tells her husband, as three sets of curious eyes look up at her, hanging off her every word.

She nods her head towards Alexis and Simon, and Castle sees them first, a grin spreading over his face as he leans down to take Noah and James' hands, before they take off for Alexis, and she takes Lucy's hand.

Even though the girl has declared her displeasure at being treated like a little girl quite vocally on more than one occasion, she doesn't say anything, simply following her mother's lead, beaming when she sees her sister.

"Alexis!"

Lucy reaches them first, slipping between her father and brothers for the coveted first hug.

Alexis laughs at her impatience, greeting them all enthusiastically.

Simon is always second best in the eyes of these kids, something he has long since accepted, and he simply watches his wife interact with her siblings with a warm smile.

He shakes his father-in-law's hand in the mean time, chatting easily until Alexis is able to stand to greet her father properly.

"Merry Christmas, Dad," she murmurs, and Kate smiles at the exchange between father and daughter.

He's so _happy_, and _this_ is the reason she loves Christmas.

It begins and ends with this man, and the life and the children he has given her, and that smile on his face is the greatest gift of all.

* * *

**A/N:**

I'm going to mark this as complete, although if inspiration strikes, I may add one-shots from this universe in the future.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks for reading!


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